Traversing through South American nations, crossing the jungles of Panama and climbing the high walls of the US-Mexico border – these illegal routes to the US are well-known to those who have seen the Bollywood movie Dunki or the Punjabi film Aaja Mexico Challiye. However, many also illegally enter the US after travelling via Europe, Canada and the United Kingdom.
On Wednesday, 104 deportees from the US reached Amritsar on a military flight, including 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. Many of them have narrated how they managed to reach the US border with the help of agents.
While illegal immigration is fraught with dangers and risks, including deportation, many are willing to give it a go and agents are constantly looking for ways to make it happen. Here are some of the illegal routes taken in recent years by many immigrants headed to the US.
South American route
The most common route depicted in movies is taking a flight from a city like Mumbai to any South American country that issues visa on arrival, like Ecuador or Bolivia. Some take a tourist visa and head to nations like Brazil or Venezuela. Jaspal Singh, 36, a native of Fatehgarh Churian in Punjab who was among the 104 Indians deported from the US on Wednesday, shared that he lived in Brazil for six months on a tourist visa before proceeding ahead.
A few go to South American countries via Dubai. Ajaydeep Singh of Amritsar had spent seven-eight months in Dubai before travelling further. During these months, many earn money for the illegal migration by doing odd jobs. Once they reach South America, they head to Panama on another flight. This is where the journey starts to become difficult. The travellers have to trudge through Panama’s jungles, crossing a river as well which takes 10-15 days. Those who wish to avoid the jungle take a boat from Columbia to Nicaragua and further to Mexico amid heavy police patrolling on towers along the river.
From Mexico, the journey is the same for everyone as they need to walk a few kilometres to reach till the US-Mexico border and scale high walls with barbed wires. Those who wish to avoid climbing take the water route again as they cross the Rio Grande River to reach the US illegally. A few cross the manned border by just walking through the road and they avoid the hardship of climbing the wall or crossing via boat.
An overseas consultant says, “Once they arrive in the US, they are either arrested or surrender themselves and are sent to refugee camps. Their agent hires a lawyer and they would apply for asylum. Until a decision is made on the case, the illegal immigrant gets a work permit. In many cases, this goes on for up to 7-10 years. Some even get a Green Card and citizenship eventually. Such people are the reason why the number of illegal immigrants keeps rising.” Vinay Kumar Hari, an overseas education consultant said, “In the past 10-15 years, over 7 lakh Indians have applied for asylum after entering the US.”
While several people also get deported during the process, those who returned on Wednesday never got the chance to hire lawyers.
An overseas consultant revealed that many spend Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore for the process, especially those who are less educated and cannot crack the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination and those who have faced multiple visa refusals. The legal route via tourist visa also costs up to Rs 2 lakh per person.
Via Europe
Many first go to European countries on tourist/work/study visa. For a temporary stay, those on work permit or study visa obtain a Foreigner Identification Number which helps them travel till Mexico under a visa-on-arrival scheme. Later, they only need to cross the Mexican border so many view this as a less dangerous option which also does not cost them as much as other routes.
Among the deportees was Sukhpal Singh, 36, of Hoshiarpur who had gone to Italy in October last year on a work permit and his family has claimed that they were unaware that he went to Mexico to cross the border illegally.
From Europe, people spend Rs 15-30 lakh to illegally cross the Mexican border. Some also take a sea route to enter the US. Meanwhile, anyone with a Schengen visa can apply for a US visa as well and can legally go to the United States for Rs 2-5 lakh as a visitor or on a work permit.
Through the United Kingdom
In a relatively new trend seen over the last two-three years, many students from Punjab opt for a one to two-year course in the United Kingdom and travel on a student visa for which they need to deposit at least six months’ course fee which would amount to around Rs 7.5 lakh (average fee for the first year is Rs 15-20 lakh depending upon the college or course).
Once they get the biometric residence permit (BRP), which is a temporary stay permit in the UK till the duration of the course, many take a route towards Mexico where they get a visa on arrival.
“If the students complete their three-year degree in the UK, they easily get a US visa afterwards and a work permit as well. But for that one needs to study and pass the exams. So students who take shortcuts leave their studies midway and use the BRP to reach the US-Mexico border,” said Nitin Chawla, executive committee member of the Association of Overseas Studies Consultants, Punjab.
Vinay Kumar Hari, who runs an overseas education consultancy, says, “The matter of missing students in the UK is the next big issue which could come to light soon.”
Taking the illegal route via UK costs around Rs 30-35 lakh if the student pays the college fee for a full year or even half year. After completing studies in the UK, the legal route to reach the US would only cost another Rs 2-5 lakh, consultants say. Among the deportees was one woman – Muskan, 21, from Ludhiana’s Jagraon – who left her course in the UK midway and reached up to the Mexican border last month. After reaching home in Punjab, she told the media that she had gone to Mexico during her summer vacation and was shocked to arrive back in Amritsar.
Route via Canada
Many immigrants also cross the Canadian border to reach the US illegally. In 2024, as per figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), nearly 20,000 international students who took admission in Canadian colleges disappeared from the country.
Many enter the US for 24 hours via the Canadian border by taking a ticket that costs roughly $20, only to vanish afterwards, sources revealed.
According to sources, despite the troubles involved in undertaking such long and perilous journeys, many people who do manage to relocate to the US in such ways are able to start earning within seven-eight months and since earnings in the United States are on the higher side compared to other countries, it is an added attraction. However, illegal routes put their lives in danger, besides resulting in loss of money and embarrassment in the form of deportation, Chawla added.
Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, front left, interacts with illegal Indian immigrants, who were deported from the US, upon their arrival, in Amritsar. (PTI Photo) 
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